After coming across his work on the Creative Cloud Facebook page, we connected with Jeff to learn more about his project, how Creative Cloud played an integral role in the creation, and some features that have helped him evolve his creative process. Get the whole story below, plus learn some tips and techniques you can apply to your next project.

Finally, be sure to submit your own work on the Creative Cloud Facebook wall for a chance to be featured!

Adobe: Describe a project you are currently working on or have completed with Creative Cloud.

Jeff: I started my Angry Birds poker project in early 2012, titled: A Friend In Need – An Angry BirdsParody. This project was inspired by a tutorial by Marcos Torres (@marcos333) to design a custom Angry Birds scene.

What was your inspiration behind the project?

I wanted to design a scene that no one else had done yet, so I settled on the popular “Dogs Playing Poker” or “A Friend In Need” themed creation. I figured it was only a matter of time until someone made an Angry Birds variation given its relevance to current pop-culture.

The second part of this project was mainly a challenge for me – to design the entire image using tools only found in Adobe Illustrator CS6. Up until this point, I had only used Illustrator to design icons or logos, not full-scale graphics and scenes. I knew I could design many of the elements in Photoshop CS6 (especially the 3D ones), but I wanted to see just how far I could push both my and Illustrator’s limits. This helped me master many new skills and tools that would help me in future projects.

How has the Creative Cloud changed your creative workflow?

The greatest advantage that the Creative Cloud has given me was the ability to specify the computers I use with certain products. I use my desktops at home and at the office for all my Creative Suite 6 tools – whether it’s video editing, interactive design, web development, photo editing, or in this case – illustrating. Then I can specifically use my laptop with the essential applications without using up all my disk space. Plus, now I have the option to install any new and existing applications whenever, and wherever I need them. Thanks to Creative Cloud’s App-Store like interface, I can do this without needing to carry the install disks around with me.

What tools specific to Creative Cloud enable you to work more efficiently?

When I started this project I would carry my work around on a flash drive. The biggest problems with this for me were making sure that I always had the most updated file on hand and worrying whether or not the file would get lost or corrupted. The biggest advantage of Creative Cloud is the ability to save my work in one place, the cloud. This allowed me to save all my files, settings, brushes, symbols, and color palettes while having access to them on any machine I was working on.

Describe your style of work in three words:

Organized, Colorful, Themed.

What advice would you give to an individual who is considering Creative Cloud?

One Illustrator tool that I especially love and can’t live without, the ability to preflight and package all my data like you can in Adobe InDesign. Now I don’t have to spend extra time finding document links and outlining fonts before sending them to another designer or printer. This allows me to work non-destructively while getting projects completed much faster. The other benefit is that Creative Cloud is subscription based. If you are struggling to justify spending a lot of money to upgrade or buy the most recent software, you can now spend a much smaller amount on a monthly basis.

Anything else you’d like to add?

The only way to discover your potential and creativity is to play, and Adobe’s Creative Cloud is always giving you cool new things to play with. So sit at the computer, open an application, and just try it. Keep trying new things and mixing techniques and you’ll discover something really cool.

You can check out additional projects Jeff has completed by vising his website.